Category: PlayStation

What could be said about it that hasn’t already been said a thousand times before? Every character, every plot point, every pixel of the game that almost single-handedly popularized the JRPG genre in the West has been scoured over by fans and detractors alike since the game’s original release almost 20 years ago.

If you’ve played a game in the past 15, 10, or even five years, you probably know everything there is to know about Final Fantasy VII. Square Enix has been doing everything in its power to make sure we never forget what is widely regarded as their magnum opus for the past several years. With this in mind, you may be wondering why I would even bother talking about the Final Fantasy 7 music in the first place. What’s the point of talking about a game that everyone and their mother has already covered? Simply put, refusing to cover what may very well be the most beloved RPG of all time would be like compiling a list of history’s greatest artists and purposefully leaving out Leonardo da Vinci.

Though not everyone believes that Final Fantasy VII is one of the greatest games of all time, I believe we can all agree that it had a fantastic soundtrack. Series composer and all-around swell guy Nobuo Uematsu really outdid himself with the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack. From the booming electronica of the Shinra Headquarters to the sweeping overworld theme, every track is gold. And we all teared up just a little when we heard Aerith’s sad, soothing theme, right?

We shivered with equal parts uneasiness and excitement when we heard the strange, alien battle theme of the equally alien JENOVA, and who hasn’t bobbed their head to the incredibly infectious main battle theme at least once? One Winged Angel, the main theme of one of the most iconic villains of all time, still holds up amazingly well today with its booming orchestra and sinister Latin lyrics, the latter of which whose mere presence in the game was quite the technological feat at the time.

Love it or hate it, Final Fantasy VII had an undeniable impact on the gaming market in the late 90s. If not for Final Fantasy VII, JRPGs may never have caught on in the West. This is due in part to its timeless soundtrack. I tried to give this iconical video game soundtrack a special treatment. To give it a more “pop/rock band” kind of feel. A friend of mine referred to it as “Nobuo Uematsu meets Coldplay” and I think I can agree to that. I tried to preserve the epicness of the FF7 OST and give it a personal twist. I also added in some 8-bit chiptune elements as well. I can’t help it, it’s my signature touch on everything I do I guess 🙂 Please give it a listen and let me know what you think! The full album is on Spotify, iTunes, Google Music, Amazon MP3, Deezer and a lot of other digital music services.